Resident Evil Movies Character Rundown

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IGN takes a look at some of the most popular characters in the film franchise.

By Scott Collura

As Resident Evil: Extinction hits theaters today, we figured this was the perfect chance to take a look at some of the most popular characters in that enduring franchise while also taking the opportunity to pimp IGN's brand new Stars channel at the same time...

Stars, you see, is a great resource for all of your Resident Evil needs. With origins, bios, pictures, quotes, forums, and plenty more pertaining to the RE characters, what better spot is there to stop in and brush up on the characters from the series -- be it the movie versions, the game versions, or somewhere in between the two.

So read on for some quick bios on Alice, Jill Valentine, Nemesis, and more, and then be sure to click on any character's name to be taken to their complete IGN Stars profile page. Those pages are resident on the site from here on in, but there's nothing evil about them, we assure you!

Main Game Appearances: None Movie Appearances:Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: ExtinctionAffiliation: Former Umbrella Corporation security agent Background: Alice is an interesting character in the Resident Evil franchise because she's the star of all the movies but she hasn't actually appeared in any of the videogames to date. Still, she has become an iconic figure and is closely associated with the series.

Paul W. S. Anderson, who wrote and directed the first film, cast his then-girlfriend Milla Jovovich in the role of the ass-kicking amnesiac Alice (who is also known as Janus Prospero, Alice Parks, and Alice Abernathy in other media like the RE books). Even though Jovovich and Anderson have long since parted ways romantically, Milla continues to go medieval on zombie ass in each successive film, including Extinction.

A key aspect of the character throughout the films is that she has often not known what her true origins were or where she fit into the plans of the Umbrella Corporation, although by the close of Extinction Alice seems to finally be gaining the upper hand against that big, bad conglomerate.

Main Game Appearances:Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil Code: VeronicaMovie Appearances:Resident Evil: ExtinctionAffiliation: Anti-Umbrella Corporation agent Background: Claire is actually the sister of Chris Redfield, the protagonist of the first Resident Evil game. She was brought in as a lead in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica to search for her brother, who it was explained had gone missing in the game's storyline.

Interestingly, the character almost never existed. During the development of RE2, the heroine's name was originally Elza Walker. But eventually developer Capcom dumped that version of the game and started almost from scratch on the project. Hence, Claire was born, or rather redesigned from Elza's digital ashes and given physical features that would more closely resemble her brother Chris.

Claire didn't make it into the movie version of the franchise until Extinction, where she's played by the lovely Ali Larter of Heroes fame, apparently replacing the character of Jill Valentine from the previous movie.

Main Game Appearances:Resident Evil, Resident Evil 3: NemesisMovie Appearances:Resident Evil: ApocalypseAffiliation: Former S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) agent Background: Jill Valentine is a very popular character in the Resident Evil videogame series, although she has only appeared in one of the films (the second). She began life in the first game as a member of the S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) Alpha Team that was sent in to investigate the spooky mansion near Raccoon City where the initial zombie outbreak occurs.

She has subsequently shown up in various other games either as a featured player or in cameo appearances. She was also the first major game character to make it to the RE movies, when Sienna Guillory played her in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. That film sort of followed the storyline from the Resident Evil 3 game, which involved the hideous creature known as the Nemesis hunting down Jill and her comrades.

Although Jill survived the events of the second film by all accounts, she did not return for the third film and was replaced by another game character, Claire Redfield.